Doha – Remittances from Spain to Morocco have nearly doubled over the past decade, positioning Morocco as the second-largest recipient of money transfers from the European country, according to recent data from the Bank of Spain analyzed by The Objective.
In 2023, remittances to Morocco reached €1.375 billion, representing 13.1% of total remittances from Spain and 0.09% of Spanish GDP.
This marks a staggering leap from ten years ago when transfers to Morocco accounted for only 7.4% of total remittances and 0.04% of Spain’s GDP.
The surge in remittances correlates with the growing Moroccan community in Spain, which has expanded by 200,000 people in just two years.
Moroccans now constitute the largest foreign population in Spain, exceeding one million residents, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE).
Colombia maintains its position as the primary destination for remittances from Spain, receiving 14.7% of total transfers, equivalent to €1.5 billion.
The overall remittance outflow from Spain reached €10.7 billion in 2023, accounting for 0.7% of Spanish GDP, showing a 0.5 percentage point increase since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The torrent of Spanish remittances propels Morocco’s dominance in diaspora transfers. Morocco’s Exchange Office reported that total remittances from the Moroccan diaspora worldwide reached MAD 117.7 billion ($11.7 billion) in 2024, marking a 2.1% increase from 2023.
The country upholds its position as the second-largest recipient of remittances in the MENA region after Egypt. Additionally, Morocco’s foreign direct investments improved significantly, reaching MAD 17.23 billion ($1.7 billion), a 55.4% increase from the previous year.
This upward trend continues into 2025, with the Exchange Office reporting that remittances from Moroccans abroad reached MAD 9.45 billion ($950 million) in January alone, slightly higher than the MAD 9.4 billion recorded in the same period last year.
The landscape of remittance flows has shifted significantly since 2013 when Ecuadorian, Bolivian, and Romanian residents in Spain transferred more money than Moroccans.
Even as recently as pre-pandemic times in 2019, Ecuadorian residents were sending larger amounts.
Other notable increases in remittance flows from Spain include Honduras, which has more than doubled its share to 4.9% of total transfers, reaching €520 million, and Pakistan, which has grown from 2% to 4.4% of total remittances.
The Bank of Spain notes that while remittances have soared both globally and within Spain, reflecting migration patterns, Spain’s remittance-to-GDP ratio historically remains below the international average, despite showing “notable dynamism.”
This growth in remittance flows has attracted new financial service providers. Digital platforms are emerging to facilitate these transfers, indicating an evolving financial landscape for international money transfers from Spain.
